Are you ready, Helldivers? Today we're sharing a selection of work that we contributed to Helldivers 2. For justice. For liberty!
It was a joy to partner with the wonderful Arrowhead Game Studios, creating Concept Art, Armour Designs, Weapon Designs and 3D Modelling across a range of Warbonds, DLC and Superstore content.
We will continue to drop more of our work as it comes. The Terminids will be quivering in their exoskeletons!
Atomhawk Canada have announced 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗥𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹, an exciting artist led R&D initiative that has captured the hearts and imaginations of their team. We're thrilled to be able to officially reveal the project and share more information and artwork about it!
All aboard the Project Rainfall train! We're leaving the station and hope you'll join us on the journey.
Representation matters. It matters because what we see in the arts and the media doesn’t just reflect reality, it shapes it.
This year we spoke to some of our Hawks to get a sense of what representation means to them for #BlackHistoryMonth.
Also check out the downloadable wallpaper at the end of the article, a design that we hope pays homage to the energy, emotion, and colour that flows from Black cultures.
The Atomhawk Art Competition has become a beloved annual event for many artists around the world to express their individual creativity. The mission is simple: take an enigmatic prompt and turn it into a piece of concept art that is both original and head turning. This year’s theme was ‘Under Strange Suns‘.
What were the interpretations this year? We’re thrilled to announce 2023’s winners.
Submissions are judged on creative detail and the artist’s ability to tell a compelling story. With 500 artworks entered this year, there were a multitude of unusual ideas to choose from, spanning across a myriad of genres, from illustrations, 2D composite art and fully 3D entries.
Alongside Atomhawk’s art leadership team, we were honoured to invite our friend, Thomas Chamberlain-Keen, as this year’s independent judge. TCK is a professional art competition participator, having entered into, won and judged many art competitions and challenges over the years. There was no one better to help us decide the six winners of Under Strange Suns!
Winners will receive a selection of incredible artist goodies from The Gnomon Workshop, Wacom, Escape Technology, Sumo Digital, Photobash, 3dtotal and Proko.
We could not be happier to announce that first place goes to Edward Tsang for this this microscopic adventurer. “Edward earns the Grand Prize with a delightful character design that thoroughly explores the symbiosis between a traveller and their moth companion as they tackle a challenging environment built around the Under Strange Suns theme,” said guest judge Thomas Chamberlain-Keen. “Their interdependence is not just assured but demonstrated through our heroes’ equipment, the moth’s behaviour, movement abilities, and the elegant visual links in their design.”
From all of us at Atomhawk, we want to extend a huge congratulations to Edward!
Edward is now the proud owner of PlayStation 5 Digital Edition courtesy of our friends at Sumo Digital, a 1-year subscription to The Gnomon Workshop and a Loupedeck CT thanks to Wacom and Escape Technology. Other prizes include generous store credit vouchers for Photobash, 3dtotal and Proko, as well as an Atomhawk portfolio review and The Art of Atomhawk, Volume 3.
Please check out more of Edward’s work at artstation.com/yeinart
We’re delighted to announce this year’s first category winner is Alex Frasca for this design of an aquatic explorer. “There were so many great character entries this year but Alex’s design really stood out!” said Charlie Bowater, Atomhawk Character Expert, “The final result is so attention grabbing, and the design sheet really lets you explore how much storytelling and attention to detail went into the character design. You can see how much thought Alex poured into every detail. It’s beautiful!”
Please check out more of Alex’s work at artstation.com/sanguine
Continuing our category winners, we congratulate Alan Albiach for the exploration of a civilization existing after a supernova event. “Alan’s piece stood out among the entries this year thanks to its great use of mood and atmosphere. The colour palette is well balanced and helps to create an otherworldly feeling,” said Environment Discipline Lead, Artur Zima, “Combined with a fantastic sense of scale and strong composition, this was a real eye catcher!”
Please check out more of Alan’s artwork at artstation.com/alanalbiach
Our final category winner this year is Leonardo Ambrosini for this dynamic space pirate action scene. Leonardo was a 2020 Honourable Mention (The Adventure Begins) and the winner of the Rising Star Mentorship in 2021 (The Return).
“Leonardo’s piece captured me straight away with its storytelling, characters, mid-action setting and colour palette, there are so many layers to the image, each time I look at it I discover something new,” said Chris Rocks, 3D Art Discipline Lead, “The judges loved the combination of 2D & 3D in Leonardo’s process which really makes for an amazing piece. I could easily see this as an animated movie or computer game, great work!” We are so inspired to see Leonardo’s growth as an artist over the years. Congratulations!
Please check out more of Leonardo’s work at artstation.com/leonardo_ambrosini
The Rising Star Mentorship is an award that has become a coveted prize for Art Competition entrants. We’re so pleased to announce that the recipient of the third Rising Star Mentorship is Tobey Tobella.
“Tobey’s artwork is a solid and very neat idea! I loved the incorporation of the brief’s theme into the design in a great and interesting way,” said Mauro Cerati, Principal Concept Artist, “From the character process to the colour variations and value comp, there is clear research shown and good taste. The overall character makes me want to discover more of the world and also encounter other Ether Vendors to see how they look like!”
Tobey has won an exclusive mentorship with an Atomhawk Artist and a Wacom Cintiq 16, courtesy of Wacom and Escape Technology. Other prizes include a 1-year subscription to The Gnomon Workshop, and store credit from Photobask, 3dtotal and Proko.
Please check out more of Tobey’s artwork at artstation.com/tobeytobella
Finally, The Hawk’s Choice Award is decided by the entire Atomhawk team, who vote for their favourite artworks which they believe nail the ‘Under Strange Suns’ brief. “I had so much fun just by looking at this image which radiates with good feelings and on top of that is nicely rendered. Giuditta did an amazing job bringing this character to life!” said Dario Jelusic, Atomhawk Art Director.
From all the Hawks, we extend a huge congratulations to Giuditta Migiani, this year’s winner!
We were floored to receive so many bizarre and imaginative entries for this year’s competition. The impressive ideas presented were so great, it was almost impossible to narrow it down to simply six winners! Therefore, we’d like to extend congratulations to our honourable mentions: Duane Schimmel, Isabella Bicego, Jeanne Plounevez, Jennifer Hitchman, Myat Hein Khant and Serhii Semenenko.
Thank you to the 500 people who entered our art competition this year. We were humbled by your enthusiasm, creativity and ingenuity and we hope you will join us again for next year’s competition in 2024!
Please check out more entries with the hashtag #AHArtComp23 on ArtStation, Instagram and Twitter.
This year’s theme is ‘Under Strange Suns’, where artists are invited to create a character design, environment design, or piece of keyframe art to be in with the chance of winning amazing art-themed prizes.
Under Strange Suns will allow 3D entries for the first time in its history. We've has even created a handy guide on key considerations and what the judges are looking for to help those entering for the first time this year. Entrants have until Thursday, 10th August 2023 to complete their pieces of artwork for submission to the judges.
The amazing prizes up for grabs include a PlayStation 5 Digital Edition, Loupedeck CT, subscriptions to The Gnomon Workshop, and Artstore vouchers, as well as portfolio reviews from the Atomhawk team. Returning for its third year, the money-can’t-buy-it Rising Star Mentorship is made up of four one-on-one sessions with an Atomhawk artist, whose winner will also receive a Wacom Cintiq 16.
This week we were thrilled to welcome Owl Adventures to the hawk's nest for a special night of life drawing! We had such a blast getting to meet and observe our new feathered friends that we just had to share a few snaps 📸
The Atomhawk Art Competition has become a beloved annual event for many artists around the world to express their individual creativity. The mission is simple: take an enigmatic prompt and turn it into a piece of concept art that is both original and head-turning. This year’s theme was “Forgotten Creation”. What were the interpretations this year? We’re thrilled to announce 2022’s winners.
Submissions are judged on creative detail and the artist’s ability to tell a compelling story. With over 480 artworks entered this year, there were countless imaginative creations to choose from, spanning across a myriad of genres, all lost to time and memory.
Alongside Atomhawk’s art leadership team, we were honoured to invite our friends, Glenn Brace and Ben Blethyn, from nDreams Studio Elevation as independent judges. As they combine Elevation’s veteran experience with exceptional new talent, blending state of the art technology with emotional and aesthetic innovation, they were the perfect addition to help us decide the final six winners who exemplified storytelling, creativity and technical acumen.
Winners will receive a selection of incredible artist goodies from Wacom, Escape Technology, Sumo Digital, 3dtotal, Proko, Photobash and ArtStation.
We could not be happier to announce that first place goes to Quinten for this epic collosus collapsed in a subzero crevasse. “Quinten’s artwork has been executed to perfection. The seamless mix of 3D and 2D, the lighting and the level of polish all help to sell this epic moment of explorers discovering an ancient, snow-sunken guardian,” said Ben Blethyn from Elevation an nDreams Studio. Quinten has been an Art Competition regular since 2020’s “The Adventure Begins” and we were inspired to see Quinten’s growth as an artist, resulting in a deserving Grand Winner.
From all of us at Atomhawk, we want to extend a huge congratulations to Quinten!
Quinten is now the proud owner of an Xbox Series S courtesy of our friends at Sumo Digital, and will receive generous store credit vouchers for 3dtotal, Proko and Photobash, as well as a choice of portfolio review or paintover by an Atomhawk Lead Artist, and 1 Year of ArtStation Pro.
Please check out more of Quinten’s work at artstation.com/hemlockz
A new addition to the prize structure this year was the introduction of Category Winners, ensuring that all specialisations of artists had a fair chance to place as a winner. We’re delighted to announce this year’s Key Moment winner is Serhii Semenenko’s post-apocalyptic train carriage scene.
“There’s a funkiness and confidence to Serhii’s bold markings and finish, in the way that I can recognise this as a highly successful mood-piece,” said Glenn Brace from Elevation an nDreams Studio. “It has the essence of concept art, where the artist is conveying an epic idea with just enough visual fidelity, mood and awe. Some lovely judgement on show, loose suggestive markings carrying the load, complemented with details in all the right areas. Bravo Serhii!”
Please check out more of Serhii’s work at artstation.com/paintabler
Continuing our Category winners, we’d like to extend our congratulations to Yun Huai Huang’s winning creature that left us feeling a little haunted! “Characters were a strong category this year but Yun Huai’s Living Coffin of the Saint was our winner for its beautiful design and strong sense of storytelling. I love the shape language utilised in this design and it’s a joy to get up close and personal with this piece and discover all the hidden details,” said Charlie Bowater, Atomhawk Lead Artist.
Please check out more of Yun Huai’s work at artstation.com/yunhuaihuang
Our final category winner goes to Andrea Stanga and this atmospheric mansion discovery, giving us a powerful sense of nostalgia. The judges noted that there was a great sense of approachability to Andrea’s artwork. All aspects of the environment built on each other to tell the story of the forgotten painting, and yet there’s a mystery to it which leaves the viewer wondering and wanting more.
Please check out more of Andrea’s artwork at artstation.com/a_s_ascher
The Rising Star Mentorship is back for its second year, an award that has become a coveted prize for Art Competition entrants. We’re so pleased to announce that this year’s Mentorship winner is Charlotte Kügler, who was one of our Honourable Mentions from last year’s “The Return” competition.
“There was a unanimous agreement that Charlotte deserved the Rising Star Mentorship for 2022,” said Drew Whitmore, Atomhawk Art Director. “An incredible amount of effort and love was poured into this piece; there are bits of story and detail in every corner and crevice you look at. Charlotte is in a great place to be able to take full advantage of mentorship from one of the artists at Atomhawk.”
Charlotte has won an exclusive mentorship with an Atomhawk Senior Artist and a Wacom Cintiq 22, courtesy of Wacom and Escape Technology. Other prizes include store credit from 3dtotal and Proko.
Please check out more of Charlotte’s artwork at artstation.com/charlotte_kuegler
Finally, The Hawk’s Choice Award is decided by the entire Atomhawk team, who vote for their favourite artworks which they believe nail the “Forgotten Creation” brief. From all the Hawks, we extend a huge congratulations to Maxime Schilde, this year’s winner!
Please check out more of Maxime’s work at artstation.com/maximeschilde
We were floored to receive so many great and thought-provoking entries for this year’s competition. The impressive ideas presented were so great, it was almost impossible to narrow it down to simply six winners! Therefore, we’d like to extend congratulations to our honourable mentions: Verena Lehner-Dittenberger, Ivelin Trifonov, Fergus Russell, Nick Iorfino, François Arnaud and Samantha Shieh (below).
Thank you to the 487 people who entered our art competition this year. We were humbled by your enthusiasm, creativity and ingenuity and we hope you will join us again for next year’s competition in July 2023!
Please check out more entries with the hashtag #atomhawkcreation on ArtStation, Instagram and Twitter.
Check out our brand new website full of helpful resources, info on all things Atomhawk and even some opportunities to join our all-star team!
We're hitting the road once more for the Twin Town Challenge, raising money for SpecialEffect! 🚗💛
A huge team of hawks will be driving from the UK to France and back in our little beetle bringing you tons of updates, antics and fun. We're hoping to raise £2000 this year, so please consider donating at our Just Giving page and join us on the adventure!
